Hemlock (A Shifters Novel, 1)

***ARC provided by HarperTeen for review*** To be honest, I've never been a big fan of werewolf stories. The only book I've ever read about werewolves is Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, and it didn't capture my attention enough to keep reading the series....

I really wasn't sure about Hemlock. It had an interesting idea behind it, but I felt like the werewolf storyline could really go bad. It had the potential to end up kind of cheesy and unbelievable. Somewhere between the first few chapters and a third of the way through the novel, all my fears were gone and I was hooked. I stayed up way too late to finish this book, but it was completely worth it. Mackenzie lost her best friend Amy to a werewolf attack five months ago. The wolf was never found and without a sense of closure, Amy is haunting Mac's dreams. Jason, Amy's boyfriend at the time, has turned to drinking and bad life choices to forget. Kyle, the last member of their group, has tried to be there for his friends, but he's had to deal with Amy's death as well. When there's another werewolf attack in town, the past is brought back up and the three of them must face secrets that threaten not only their friendships, but the town as well. Mac is a perfectly flawed character that works to overcome her demons. She's not a strong fighter or the best thinker, and she lets the past cloud her judgment, but she fights as hard as she can for those she cares about. She isn't softhearted, but she is sympathetic to the werewolf plight, even though one killed her best friend. She knows one is not a reflection of them all and she believes they still deserve to have rights. She's worried about the people she loves leaving her because her mother left when she was a baby and her father took off a few years later. She keeps everyone at a slight distance so it supposedly won't hurt as much when they leave her. All of these little pieces come together to create one of the best characters I've read in a Young Adult novel. Jason and Kyle are the not-really-a-love-triangle counterparts. Mac cares for both of them, but it is obvious where her heart lies, at least in Hemlock. Jason's idea of honoring Amy's death is revenge. He loses himself in the bottom of an alcohol bottle and vows to destroy the creatures that destroyed Amy. Kyle feels responsible for Amy's death and beats himself up over that guilt every day. He doesn't self-destruct, though, and vows to never let something like that happen to someone he cares about again. Each boy takes drastically different paths when it comes to how they deal with Amy's death. Having these two complete opposites was interesting to read and made for some extremely tense moments. Hemlock completely surprised me. I really was not expecting to find myself so invested and involved with these characters. The ending has me needing the next book and I'm very happy I waited to read Hemlock because I don't have to wait for Thornhill. This is a fantastic read that blends the real world and the world Peacock has created perfectly. This is an amazing start to what I hope is an equally amazing series.

Hemlock was such fun and engaging book. A world where werewolves exist and have no rights? They were sent to camps to protect the population. I loved the politics. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of a werewolf version of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black, which was great: a little romance, an awesome heroine, and a scary and thrilling plot! I liked Mac a lot and I cared about the people in her life. Her best friend, Amy, died as a result of a werewolf attack. Everyone had secrets and the town was getting pretty crazy after the attack. Mac was curious, but she discovered maybe she didn’t know what was going on in her best friend’s life at all. There were secrets, betrayal, love, and drama with all of the characters. The town turned into kind of a police state with werewolf trackers and the politics of werewolf rights intrigued me. I loved the parallels with regular society. Hemlock was a town where nothing and nowhere was safe, but the narration and some of the characters made it fun to read as opposed to just action packed and scary. It was funny and sweet when it needed to be and Mac was pretty spunky, tough, and a little naïve. I liked her so much. Books like Hemlock are some of my favorites. I like when fantasy and paranormal plots use the element of danger and ignore the secrecy. There are so many plots where the mythical creatures are secret, enchanting, and the characters involved are enamored by them. I enjoy that, but I love the other side, where the existence of the creatures is known and they ARE dangerous. It leaves so many doors open for real life parallels, such as the werewolf rights politics of Hemlock. And what is a YA paranormal without a decent love story? Sure, it’s kind of a triangle, but it’s actually one of those good ones. And it’s kind of awesome that as soon as the triangle formed, the main character made fun of herself and compared her experience to a teen angst drama that would probably air on the CW, which made me laugh out loud. I love it when a book can do that and be fun while also being romantic or dramatic or scary. It’s so refreshing. I really enjoyed Hemlock. So much that I bought Thornhill without a second thought immediately after finishing. Not because it’s one of THOSE books where you’re left totally hanging and you realize how much you actually hate series, but because I really wanted to know what happens next because I love the characters and their adventure. So, of course, I definitely recommend the book.

I loved the story behind Hemlock. Humans know werewolves exist but they're afraid of them due to a string of brutal killings. Plus, the Trackers have smeared them to the public,making them out to be thoughtless beasts. Mac's best friend, Amy, was killed by a white werewolf and throughout the book, Mac has dreams about Amy. It reminded me of Veronica Mars, where Veronica sees her friend almost like her ghost is haunting her, so that was cool. Throughout the whole book, Kyle, Jason and Mac's are trying to figure out what really happened to Amy and who's responsible for killing her. As the book progresses, we learn that Kyle and Jason are both in love with Mac. The only thing is, Kyle is a werewolf and Jason is her dead friends' ex-boyfriend. If I was just rating the book based on the story alone, I would give this book five stars. The only drawback with this entire book was Mac. She's not special in any way. She is also very clumsy is constantly tripping over her own feet when the situation is most dire. She cries constantly and the fact that she had been friends with Kyle and Jason for three years and had absolutely no clue either of them liked her is unbelievable. I actually loved Jason, and had hoped by the end of the book Mac and him would get together. I also had hopes that in the sequel, Thornhill, Mac and Jason would get together, but from the reviews I've read, it doesn't happen. =( Anyway, this book was good but had Mac been less whiny and tougher, it could have be fantastic.

Hemlock was a fast paced drama filled story that was surprisingly fun. Mac’s life definitely belongs on a CW show and I’ll admit that the CW is one of my guilty pleasures (along with some of the shows on ABCfamily). Sometimes you don’t need amazing writing or a twist that blows your mind – what you’re really in the mood for is drama. If this sounds like you, you’ll probably like this book. Pros: The characters are interesting and the story progresses consistently – I definitely lost some sleep because I never really came across a place where I was content to stop reading. Con: The end game or base plot line is pretty common in the fantasy genres. If you read a lot of epic fantasy or sci-fi, the story will probably start to feel familiar pretty early on. This didn't actually bother me enough to affect my experience but it’s the main reason the book didn't get more stars. Enjoyed the drama- was happy enough with the plot - could have used an original twist or two. Recommended for fans of YA drama vs. fans of fantasy!

I've had this book on my TBR list for a while, and boy, I'm glad I finally picked it up! I rate this book 4.5 stars. Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock stars Mac, a strong willed and intelligent young woman and two very different boys, Jason and Kyle. They live in a world populated by werewolves, and the government and other unrelated parties have altered the culture to deal with this new threat. This whole story is surrounded by the mystery of the death of Mac's best friend Amy, who was dating Jason. She was found clutching a bunch of white fur in her hand. Jason is out for revenge and is intending to join a group called Trackers, who shoot and kill and discriminate against those that are infected. Mac, on the other hand, just wants to find out the truth about Amy's death. And it doesn't help that Amy haunts her dreams. There are explosive plot twists and turns, so I won't say anymore so that the reader can enjoy the ride as much as I did. I had such a great time reading this book, and I don't say that often. The characters were great and Mac reminds me of Veronica Mars-- tough, resilient, and smart-- nothing stops her from finding out the truth. The "love triangle" is dealt with well-- I get so frustrated in "balanced" love triangles. It's definitely slanted one way and I'm happy with that. The pacing is terrific. Everywhere I turned, there was another plot twist, but it was done in a way that it wasn't overwhelming and hard to follow. That's a tough balance to have. The other characters are interesting and the ending of the book leaves a lot of room for the sequel to go. I loved the voice of Mac. She has some hysterical quips, like comparing her stupid love life to something you'd see on the CW. The only issue I had, which was minor, was this book didn't come up with anything uniquely its own. That said, it's tough to do anything too unique since everything is a variation on everything else. The main point is that I was greatly entertained, and it did that job very well. Overall, a really fun read that treads familiar ground, but is well worth reading. I think Peacock will only get better and better. I'll definitely be picking up the next installment!

I do believe that Hemlock has been my most awaited title so far this year. I am not a huge fan of weres, but I fell in love with the storyline and just had to see what it was about. Hemlock is gorgeously written, and you can't help but fall in love with Mac. Mac suffered a great loss when her best friend Amy was brutally murdered by none other than a rare white werewolf. There had been recent deaths from a were in the area, but shock rolled through the entire town of Hemlock when Amy turned victim and was the next one found dead from this creature. Amy's family is very well known and nobody ever expected her to be attacked. Mac is now left dealing with loss, sadness, and guilt on her shoulders. Mac could've changed the events of that night and Amy could've been sitting with her right now. That's not how it all went down unfortunately. As Mac tries to watch over Amy's boyfriend Jason and his drunken stupor that he now repeatedly puts himself in, the only other person she has to turn to is her great friend Kyle. It's when the Trackers come to town that things start to turn upside down. Secrets slowly start to come to the surface only to cause suspicions and more questions. Can Mac trust the people around her. Or have they been working against her all along? Are her friends true, or will they let her fall?

I didn't really know what to expect from Kathleen Peacock's Hemlock, the cover description did interest me. Mentioning being haunted by her dead best friend who was murdered, werewolves, and a dark mystery to solve were enough to intrigue me, but I was still totally blown away by the book! So werewolves exist, and people fear them, they know about them. There's also this group called the Trackers that track werewolves down and put them into these "camps" that are basically their prison for life. Many werewolves are in hiding because of this. They're not all bloodthirsty monsters, but some are. Like the one who killed Amy, Mac's best friend. It's been five months since Amy died, and the werewolf attacks have halted for the time, but appearances are still being made. But it's not the same wolf that killed Amy, since hers was white. Mac suddenly gets sucked into the battle and secrets when she starts looking into Amy's death. The nightmares she's been having provoke her to look into it and what she finds is a tangle of secrets and lies. That's really the best way to describe it without giving away spoilers! Hemlock was one heck of a pageturner, I could barely put it down because the mystery element kept growing thicker and juicier!! Oh it was delightful! Amy's two friends, Jason--Amy's boyfriend--and Kyle are both adjusting in their own ways as well. Jason a little more dangerously--turning to drinking and looking at the Trackers with awe, while Kyle remains closed off and quiet. No one really wants to get involve with Mac in her solving Amy's death. No one wants to think about it really. But Mac is determined, mostly because her dreams are so haunting. Secrets soon get revealed along the course of Mac's path, coming from the left, right, forward and behind! The girl is just bombarded, but she does a heck of a job at getting through them. I really loved the characters, Mac has her own troubled past that I think is remarkable. It's not totally uncommon, but it was just written really well! And Jason and Kyle with their secrets were also total shockers! The mystery at the end does get solved--somewhat, the who-done-it part at least. But there's still quite a bit left unresolved! It's going to make waiting for the next book in this trilogy a killer! There's really not much I can add without getting too close to spoiler territory! Only know that this was one heart pounding read! I mean literally, I did not want to put it down!! Hemlock was a tragically beautiful thrilling read! And this is a must read for anyone looking for a good werewolf book! Overall rating 5/5 stars